Electric cars eligible for government discount revealed

The two electric car models eligible for £3,750 purchase grants have been revealed by the government.

Two Ford vehicles - the Puma Gen-E or e-Tourneo Courier - will come with the £3,750 discount, while 26 other models are eligible for grants of £1,500. The government announced its £650m Electric Car Grant scheme last month to help drive the switch to non-polluting vehicles.

Grants will only apply to vehicles with a list price of £37,000 or below, and the discount will be applied automatically at the point of sale. Ford puts the price of a new Puma Gen-E at £28,495 and the e-Tourneo Courier at £32,190.

They qualify for the highest grant because they are the greenest available within the eligible price range. Here is the full list of electric vehicles (EVs) eligible for the £1,500 grant: • Citroen e-C3 and Citroen e-C3 Aircross• Citroen e-C4 and Citroen e-C4 X• Citroen e-C5 Aircross• Citroen e-Berlingo• Cupra Born• DS DS3• DS N°4• Nissan Ariya• Nissan Micra• Peugeot E-208• Peugeot E-2008• Peugeot E-308• Peugeot E-408• Peugeot E-Rifter• Renault 4• Renault 5• Renault Alpine A290• Renault Megane• Renault Scenic• Vauxhall Astra Electric• Vauxhall Combo Life Electric• Vauxhall Corsa Electric• Vauxhall Frontera Electric• Vauxhall Grandland Electric• Vauxhall Mokka Electric• Volkswagen ID.3 The scheme comes in response to EV sales struggling to keep pace with what is needed to meet emissions targets.

Challenges include the high prices for electric cars when compared to conventionally powered models. The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030, but has allowed non-plug in hybrid sales to continue until this year.

Read more:World's most valuable firm beats market expectationsBonuses to rise for Ryanair staff spotting oversized baggage Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "Our measures are driving competition in the UK EV market, boosting economic growth, and supporting jobs and skills." Edmund King, AA president, welcomed the arrival of the discounts, saying they might help some drivers "bridge the financial gap to make these cars affordable". Ian Plummer, commercial director at online vehicle marketplace Autotrader, said it had prompted the highest uptick in consumer demand for electric vehicles on the platform for three years.

The Conservatives previously criticised the scheme, suggesting taxpayers shouldn't be footing the bill..